Vehicle non-volatile memory system
First Claim
1. An electronic accessory for a vehicle comprising:
- a non-volatile memory; and
a controller coupled to said non-volatile memory and to a speed sensor of the vehicle for receiving speed data representing the vehicle'"'"'s current speed, wherein said controller determines when the vehicle'"'"'s current speed falls below a predetermined threshold and stores variable data in said non-volatile memory when the vehicle'"'"'s speed is below said predetermined threshold.
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0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An electronic vehicle accessory includes a non-volatile memory, and a controller coupled to the non-volatile memory and to a speed sensor of the vehicle for receiving speed data representing the vehicle'"'"'s current speed. The controller determines when the vehicle'"'"'s current speed falls below a predetermined threshold and stores variable data in the non-volatile memory when the vehicle'"'"'s speed is below the predetermined threshold. The electronic vehicle accessory may be an instrument panel, an electronic compass, and/or a mini-trip computer, which may be housed in an overhead housing. By storing variable data in the non-volatile memory as a function of the vehicle'"'"'s speed, the present invention ensures that the most up-to-date data is stored in the non-volatile memory before the vehicle'"'"'s ignition is turned off while eliminating excessive stores that shorten the lifetime of the non-volatile memory. Further, by storing data as a function of vehicle speed, the connection to a battery powerline may be eliminated and the manufacturing and installation costs may be significantly reduced. Additionally, excessive battery drain resulting from the electronic accessory being locked in a failure mode may be prevented.
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Citations
39 Claims
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1. An electronic accessory for a vehicle comprising:
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a non-volatile memory; and a controller coupled to said non-volatile memory and to a speed sensor of the vehicle for receiving speed data representing the vehicle'"'"'s current speed, wherein said controller determines when the vehicle'"'"'s current speed falls below a predetermined threshold and stores variable data in said non-volatile memory when the vehicle'"'"'s speed is below said predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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2. An electronic accessory for a vehicle comprising:
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a non-volatile memory; a controller coupled to said non-volatile memory and to a speed sensor of the vehicle for receiving speed data representing the vehicle'"'"'s current speed, wherein said controller determines when the vehicle'"'"'s current speed falls below a predetermined threshold and stores variable data in said non-volatile memory when the vehicle'"'"'s speed is below said predetermined threshold; and a power supply module coupled to an ignition power supply line of the vehicle for supplying power to said controller and said non-volatile memory when the vehicle'"'"'s ignition is on.
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15. An electronic compass for a vehicle comprising:
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a non-volatile memory; a compass sensor for sensing a vehicle heading; a controller coupled to said compass sensor, to said non-volatile memory, and to a speed sensor of the vehicle for receiving speed data representing the vehicle'"'"'s current speed, said controller generates vehicle heading information from heading data supplied from said compass sensor, said controller determines when the vehicle'"'"'s current speed falls below a predetermined threshold and stores variable compass data in said non-volatile memory when the vehicle'"'"'s speed is below said predetermined threshold; and a display coupled to said controller for displaying the vehicle heading supplied thereto by said controller. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21)
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22. An on-board trip computer for a vehicle comprising:
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a non-volatile memory; a vehicle bus interface coupled to a vehicle bus providing vehicle data including data representing current vehicle speed and distance travelled; a controller coupled to said non-volatile memory and to said vehicle bus interface for receiving vehicle data and generating trip information from the received vehicle data, said controller determines when the vehicle'"'"'s current speed falls below a predetermined threshold and stores vehicle data in said non-volatile memory when the vehicle'"'"'s speed is below said predetermined threshold; and a display coupled to said controller for displaying trip information received from said controller. - View Dependent Claims (23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29)
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30. A method for storing variable data in a non-volatile memory used in a vehicle, the method comprising the steps of:
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sensing the speed of the vehicle; comparing the sensed vehicle speed with a predetermined threshold; and storing variable data in the non-volatile memory when the sensed var below said predetermined threshold. - View Dependent Claims (31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39)
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Specification